Police and jail chiefs have ‘ceded the airspace’ above two high-security prisons to ‘organised crime gangs’ – amid massive numbers of illicit drone flights delivering medication and weapons
Drones delivering drugs and weapons into jails pose a ‘threat to national security’, the prisons watchdog warns today.
Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said police and jail chiefs have ‘ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs’ amid huge numbers of illicit drone flights.
Apart from consignments of illegal drugs and weapons, prisoners are receiving mobile phones and even takeaway meals, Mr Taylor found.
He called for urgent action after inspections found high levels of drugs in HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire.
Mr Taylor said: ‘The safety of staff, prisoners and ultimately that of the public, is seriously compromised by the failure to tackle what has become a threat to national security.
‘It is highly alarming that the police and Prison Service have, in effect, ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs, which are able to deliver contraband to jails holding extremely dangerous prisoners including some who have been designated as high-risk Category A.
‘It is chilling that weapons can be delivered in this way – especially when some of these wings hold terrorists.’
The chief inspector’s report into Manchester, published today, said: ‘The prison had a serious problem with drugs, weapons, mobile telephones, and even takeaway meals being delivered by drones to cell windows.
‘Organised criminal groups led this activity. In the last year there had been 220 drone sightings.’
Prisoners are burning holes in windows at HMP Manchester to get drone deliveries
Inspections found high levels of drugs in HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire
Security measures such as protective netting to stop drones had been allowed to fall into disrepair.
A broken cell window at HMP Manchester
Inspectors found basic security measures such as protective netting to stop drones and CCTV had been allowed to fall into disrepair.
At Manchester, inmates were burning holes in ‘secure’ windows to continue receiving regular deliveries by drone.
In some cases, contraband packages were rolled in grass cuttings and dropped into overgrown areas to be collected later, or disguised in bin bags and dropped into areas littered with rubbish, Mr Taylor said.
‘Just doing the basics correctly in a prison, like cutting the grass and picking up rubbish, will actually make a difference,’ he added. Nearly four out of ten prisoners at Manchester who underwent mandatory drug tests tested positive.
Mr Taylor first reported his concerns about the jail, formerly known as Strangeways, last autumn. In November ministers announced the jail would get extra staff and ‘bolstered security measures’, including anti-drone netting.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘This Government inherited prisons in crisis.
‘We are investing in prison maintenance and security, working with the police and others to tackle serious organised crime, and building more prison places to lock up dangerous criminals.’
